Did ‘Scandal’ success propel Alfre Woodard into presidential role on ‘State of Affairs’?

Numerous black actors have played the president of the United States over the years on film and television, including Morgan Freeman, Dennis Haysbert, Richard Pryor and Jamie Foxx. But with a new pilot called State of Affairs, NBC is offering up the first black woman POTUS.

Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actress Alfre Woodward will play President Roberta Payton in the drama that is being billed as a cross betweenScandal and The West Wing. Woodard is joined by Katherine Heigl, whose character is a CIA operative who does daily debriefings with the president. Heigl’s character is also the ex-girlfriend of President Payton’s late son.

No further details about the pilot are available, but just the fact that a major network’s drama will star a black woman as the leader of the free world is a significant milestone in how black women are depicted in pop culture.